Jeremiah 31:3-34
“‘This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about GOD. They’ll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!” GOD’s Decree.’”
“‘But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ ‘For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.’”
This key ministry of God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, works incognito. He becomes our ally in resisting the draw of our sinful nature. He prepares us for eternity by raising us as a parent does a child. All this is accomplished with a quiet, gentle voice, never forcing, always inviting. God within, guiding and empowering, is the only way we will ever rise above our collective dysfunction. It is ours to quiet the self, listen and choose obedience to our mighty and loving Lord.
Oh yes Lord! May ‘me’ be quieted so I can listen to you. Heal, protect, and guide me by your gentle indwelling presence. I am nothing apart from the good you do in me. Do more of it Lord. Fill me with your good and vanquish my bad. Set me free to enjoy the wide-open spaces made possible by Christ’s death and your Spirit’s ministry. All glory, wisdom and power is yours Lord. I worship you.